Professor Franz Adlkofer, executive director of the Verum Foundation in Munich, says that the study reveals that the use of mobile phones could have harmful effects on health.

The study, which is yet to be published, shows that cells are damaged by a release of free radicals – extremely reactive groups of atoms or molecules contributing to essential functions in the body as well as many forms of cancer.

This results from reactions between the free radicals and DNA, leading to mutations that can disturb the cell cycle and lead to malignancy.

Adlkofer says that phones receiving poor signals – because they are far from a base station or behind thick walls – emit more harmful electromagnetic radiation. The use of hands-free headsets can mitigate the risk from the phones, he adds.

Adlkofer admits that the scientists were surprised by the results – which contradicted their initial hypothesis that there would be zero damage to DNA in single cells exposed to electromagnetic fields in so-called in-vitro tests.

He told European Voice that although more extensive research needed to be done, “the precautionary principle is justified based on what we already know [from this research]. At the moment I would say that it would be enough to advise customers only to use the ‘handy’ [mobile phone] when they need it and not for too long – and only when there is good access to base stations.”

Adlkofer coordinates a group of researchers from institutes across the Union for the project, which received more than €2 million from the EU’s 5th framework R&D programme.

The research team included experts from the University of Bordeaux, the University of Vienna and the Nuclear Radiation and Safety Authority in Helsinki.

But Adlkofer points out that human bodies have good protection mechanisms to guard against the free radicals.

“The whole organism might not suffer harm,” he said. But to assess the real effects, the German, a medical doctor engaged for years in EU-funded research, said that the methodology should be put to the test in ‘in vivo’ projects on living organisms and humans.

The release of the €3.5m study, code-named Reflex, was delayed after the Commission asked the scientists to insert extra data from an Italian institute that Adlkofer believes is unreliable and thus open to attack from the scientific community.

Acting Research Commissioner Louis Michel urged the public not to be worried by the results of the Reflex research before more work was done.

“As the next step, these experiments should be replicated in independent laboratories – at least three – and the results be convincingly confirmed before any conclusions can be drawn or any action be taken,” Michel said.

That view was echoed by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum (MMF), a Brussels-based group focusing on research into the effects of mobile phone use, whose members include Samsung, Alcatel, Ericsson, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Sagem, Siemens and Sony Ericsson.

“We don’t want to comment on individual studies,” said MMF secretary- general Michael Milligan, adding that he wanted studies “subjected to independent review” from international bodies such as the World Health Organization.

Milligan said scores of other studies purporting to link mobile phone use with health issues had failed to pass muster when subjected to review from leading independent scientists.